[harry10]

Originally Posted by KPR

Natarajan's choice is purely based on stage of his career. However I feel Ashwin is always in nascent state despite his experience and test match skills. Blame his attitude or being a Dhoni's man or whatever.

Ashwin deserves a comeback in white ball cricket. IPL has shown he has added good variations to his bowling. Also, he has always been a the first choice test spinner abroad where we can play only one. Jadeja was priortized in NZ cos of extra batting which didn't do us any good.

Originally Posted by NPV

Looks like KL Rahul will not play the second test after all. Apparently the team think tank feels he doesn't have enough red ball match practice.
Source

I am glad if KL Rahul won't replace Vihari. Vihari has done quite well in his limited opportunities and deserves a longer rope.

Many of us on the forum felt KL Rahul should (and will) replace Kohli, even Gavaskar agrees but Shastri and Rahane may not agree
Source

I am surprised. I used to respect his opinions but off late he has been giving really absurd statements. Did he even glanced at KL Rahul's average outside subcontinent? Did he even checked his performance on his last Australian tour? Also, without any match practice it's ridiculous to draft him in just like that.

Originally Posted by KPR

Where was the think tank when he was selected for the Aus tour test squad. Seems like IPL season can make a test team. We are heading Windies way.

Yup. That's the main issue. Since being dropped from national team Rahul has played only one Ranji match and he didn't do well in that too. Just because he is good in white ball cricket doesn't makes him terrific for red ball. Look at Bairstow and Finch or even Jason Roy. Rockstars in white ball but failed miserably in tests as it requires tremendous technique and temperament to be successful in tests. I like Rahul but he should make some runs in Ranji and then be eligible for Indian team.

Originally Posted by PPS

I also read somewhere that Gavaskar wants KL Rahul to keep wickets in the Tests so that India can play 5 bowlers! Absolutely ridiculous advice coming from someone of his stature.

Sunny G is smoking some wrong stuff these days

We should groom Pant for this position as Saha is already 36. Being a left hander is a big plus in batting and if you are an attacking one you can change the game in one session like Gilchrist used to do.

If Rahul is chosen above Vihari then he should open and Gill should bat at 4. If Vihari plays he should open(done reasonably well before) and Gill still at 4. Rahane at 5. Pant at 6. Jaddu at 7. Ashwin at 8 and then 3 pacers.
Looks a better solid line up like this.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by harry10

Ashwin deserves a comeback in white ball cricket. IPL has shown he has added good variations to his bowling.

I don't know where Ashwin will fit in! Kuldeep is barely getting into the XI because Chahal is the primary spinner & Jadeja has to play being the 5th bowling option in the absence of Hardik's bowling. Ashwin is a slow mover in the field, but then our fielding standards are also at their lowest!

If Rahul is chosen above Vihari then he should open and Gill should bat at 4. If Vihari plays he should open(done reasonably well before) and Gill still at 4.

KL Rahul should be told that he's just a stop-gap arrangement for the 2nd Test. Hope Gill & Vihari get to play all the remaining tests. And Vihari should be made to bowl 7-8 overs in a day.

[whencut86]

Though I disagree with Gavaskar on the maternity leave issue, his point on Kohli getting special treatment from BCCI seems to be a fair assessment though.

We are seeing Ashwin getting sidelined from ODIs though he is bowling well. Gavaskar seems to have said it openly. When questioned on the maternity leave issue, he openly challenges to ask Natarajan on this. So not sure what exactly happened since these wont be in public domain. If indeed Natarajan was asked to go as a Nets bowler to Aus despite asking for an early return then it shows how BCCI deals with players differently.

I know Kohli fans might get irked, but apart from home, Kohli has not done much to get such special treatment and being treated like a King.
> With the current bowling lineup, he could have won us the series in Eng and SA which he messed up with his selections.
> We beat an Aus team without Warner and Smith and Kohli claimed that this was bigger than winning the World Cup. Post that both Coach and Captain constantly compared the team with the Aus team of the 2000's when we were nowhere near those standards.
> Being treated as the top 4 batsmen in cricket currently, he has not won us a series or few tests away from home with his batting. Compare that to Smith's performance away from home.
> His performance in either tri-series finals or quadrangular tournament finals or ODI WC knockouts is pretty ordinary if you compare to other top players.
> His record at home is great but those are only records. Has he helped the team win or draw an away series with his batting exploits? Has he got us into a WC final or won us a WC with his batting or captaincy? The kind of innings Smith played against Eng and Williamson played against us in the Semis in 2019 WC and the kind of dismissal Kohli had in the semis against NZ shows the standards of a player. Unavoidable comparison but a necessary one to reiterate that he is not a special player and doesn't deserve the super special treatment BCCI is giving to him.
> The comparisons to Sachin will come up here but Sachin atleast had a good record in Tri-Series finals, Quadrangular finals and WC Semis. It is another matter that he had a poor record in finals by his own standards.

[Bibendum90949]

The eleven for second test.

Debut for Gill and Siraj.
KL misses out.
Pant in for Saha.
Indian goes with 5 bowlers with Jadeja in as second spinner.
Pujara named as vice captain.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The eleven for second test.

Debut for Gill and Siraj.
KL misses out.
Pant in for Saha.
Indian goes with 5 bowlers with Jadeja in as second spinner.

Excellent selections. Considering the availability of players very sensible decision from team management after long.
So glad Vihari stays in the team and KL Rahul didn't get a walk in. This team can give a real tough fight if they play positive and not go into a shell. The moment you get into a blockathon mentality against this brilliant Aussie attack the chances of you giving a Nick behind increases a lot. Except for Pujara who should play like a wall others around him should look to score runs on any bad balls available. History has shown we did well against Aussies when we played Positive.

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The eleven for second test.

Debut for Gill and Siraj.
KL misses out.
Pant in for Saha.
Indian goes with 5 bowlers with Jadeja in as second spinner.
Pujara named as vice captain.

Excellent move, people were fed up with the loud mouth VK.

Both Ajinkya and Cheteshwar will bring some much needed sobering effect on the team.

All the best.

[PPS]

Interesting selection. What it essentially means is if this 5 bowler theory doesn't work & Ashwin isn't amongst the wickets, then Rohit Sharma will replace him in the 3rd Test.

[libranof1987]

Siraj and Gill to make their debut tomorrow: Siraj in for Shami, Gill for Shaw, Jadeja for Kohli and Pant for Saha. Should have kept Saha and brought in Rahul instead, I feel.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/a...tralia-1245104

[NPV]

I'm still reeling from that disastrous 36 all out, hope I won't witness that ever again
Fingers crossed, waiting to see how the first session of Day 1, second test goes.

I just hope Gill lives up to the expectations and handles the pressure well, not easy to make your debut against Australia in Australia who have such a tough, in-form bowling attack.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Should have kept Saha and brought in Rahul instead, I feel.

Many of us including myself felt this, but then Rahul lost his place from the test squad for a reason and his recent form in other limited overs formats cannot make him a direct replacement at this juncture, so I guess he has to wait. About Pant coming in for Saha, it's a gamble and I hope it pays off.

[breezydrive]

Looking for the positives:

Time for Prithvi for perform, one more failure he'll be forgotten!
Hoping Pant to bat out for his initial 1 hour, once set he has chance to do a Gilchrist.
High hopes from Gill.
Jinxy & Pujara should stay solid.

Strong batting performance is the need of hour!

[landcruiser123]

India picked the best side it could. Fair enough that KL Rahul is not picked considering his lack of red-ball practice. Maybe KL should take some time off to play a county season?

Gill & Mayank should really build a solid foundation. I'm just thinking ahead in terms of the 3rd and 4th tests? Whom do you drop if Rohit Sharma is fit? I'll not be too surprised if India jettisons Vihari to give Rohit a spot. If Rohit bats, India should be flexible with #3 - Pujara or Gill depending on the situation.

[AtheK]

38/3, great start, Thank you sir Jadeja for holding on to the catch.

[jigar]

Originally Posted by AtheK

38/3, great start, Thank you sir Jadeja for holding on to the catch.

Also thanks to Ash for taking out Smith on duck, a rare failure for him against India. Also seems like India have worked on their fielding as both the catches were difficult.

[hemanth.anand]

Form is temporary, class is permanent they say. We all know that KL is classy. He was also in absolutely wonderful form. And he's proved in the last couple of years or so that when in form he can be a wonderful player. Dropping him because his last few test matches have been average is repeating the same mistake as picking Shaw because his last few test matches were good. Shaw proved that. We not only made a mistake by picking shaw (it was almost like playing with a 10 member squad) and now we've made a mistake of not reaping the benefits of a class in-form Batsman. Vihari as a pure batsman is not better than KL rahul IMO. In this current team replace Vihari with KLR and we have a better team.

Anyway, what's done is done. Let's hope the team performs well. Hope Siraj keeps up the pressure and continues the good work that Bumrah, Ashwin and Umesh did in that session1

[landcruiser123]

Australia fighting back in session 2. Bumrah did well to dismiss Travis Head. I hope Indian bowling can continue their attack and dismiss Australia under 250.

EDIT: Siraj picks up Marnus! This is some great bowling.

It'll be interesting to see the Indians batting. I really hope Gill & Agarwal can play time.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Vihari as a pure batsman is not better than KL rahul IMO. In this current team replace Vihari with KLR and we have a better team.

You're right, the team management + selectors seem to be smoking some good stuff. I'd take a calculated risk and give him a recall, especially since he's got a good record in Australia. They have thrown Gill to the deep end - I really hope Gill does well and they don't replace him with Rohit in the 3rd & 4th test.

Vihari has done a decent job and deserves a run, but I'd be sweating if I have to bowl to a batting order that has Pujara, Rahul, and Rahane at 3-5.